Buildings have a way of speaking to people. Such expression can come through their design, materials, condition, or decorative elements – and ultimately in their presence. In the middle of the long, wide expanse of Broadway in Newburgh, 121-123 Broadway is a forgotten but beautiful small building. Its Art Deco elements and design suddenly draw one’s eye and convey that it was once a bustling, welcoming business on the thoroughfare.

The three-story 1930 building is now shuttered, but the sandstone structure once housed a well-known local furniture store. “Kreisel’s” is in a semi-circle in big letters in the middle of an Art Deco copper-trim decoration above the entrance. The copper could use a cleaning and polishing, and yet it’s still graceful, expressive, and eye-catching, with large rays over the door and geometric and scalloped accents under large horizontal windows. The sun-rays motif makes the building stand out in the row along Broadway.

The Kreisel Furniture Co. building in Newburgh, in the Hudson Valley

When the store was open, Kreisel’s offered an array of furniture. Its owner, Edward Kreisel, wrote columns about furniture styles, such as French Provincial, and decorating – for the “Decorators’ Corner” – a feature in display advertisements in The Evening News of Newburgh. “While impromptu snacks, television suppers and after-bridge coffee can be served in the most informal and relaxed fashion, the major meal of the day should be enjoyed in an atmosphere that is both festive and intimate,” he wrote in a column about dining rooms, in an advertisement published on July 6, 1970. Love the “after-bridge coffee”!

Unsuccessful Restoration Effort

What could become of this forgotten gem? Nearby are delis, coffee shops, markets, an insurance dealer, and a state motor vehicle office. Just east a couple of doors down on Broadway is the restored Ritz Theater, where live performances in the 1930s and 1940s included Woody Herman, Ella Fitzgerald, and Red Skeleton, and the stage debut of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. However, the Kreisel’s building has been empty and boarded-up for a long time. A group sought to bring the space back as a café and lounge in the early 2000s, but the effort fell through. In 2009, the building was reportedly sold for $650,000.

Newburgh is full of such buildings, many of which owners have restored while many others sit abandoned or underutilized and in poor condition. The Kreisel’s structure is one of thousands of buildings lying within the East End Historic District, which the National Trust for Historic Preservation named as one of America’s Most Endangered Places in 1996. It has drawn the attention of others who appreciate its history and character. In a “Picture of the Week” post showing the building front, the writer of the Newburgh Restoration site wrote that this is “one of my most favorite buildings in Newburgh….The façade is beautiful! This could be such an amazing space.”

The wavy ornamental roofline of 121-123 Broadway

Broadway streetscape

A community housing and arts project, Safe Harbors of the Hudson, owns the Ritz Theater, the last remaining historic theater in the city, and is spearhading an initiative to restore the performing arts venue.

View the slide show larger in Flickr.